Solar cells, including silicon and other semiconductor solar cells are increasingly used in extraterrestial and earthbased uses. Such cells singly or connected in an array are herein referred to as a solar electric generator.
A problem associated with the application of a solar generator for driving an electric motor or other load arises from the characteristic of these cells which causes their output power to vary with the intensity of the sunlight falling upon them.
It is known that in order to transfer the maximum amount of power from a generating source to a load, the source impedance or resistance must be equal to the load impedance or resistance. (The term impedance will be used to mean impedance or resistance).
When the output of a solar electric generator varies with the light intensity, its effective source impedance varies also. This means that the maximum power transfer from the solar electric generator cannot take place at all light levels when connected to a given fixed load. The problem of maximum power transfer is further compounded by an initial impedance mismatch, if any, between the load and the solar electric generator or by any variation in the load.
An object of this invention to match the varying impedance, at varying light levels, of a solar electric generator to the fixed, or unrelated varying, impedance of a load being driven therefrom.